Crisp and full of life, people walk across the damp streets of Madison, New Jersey. The booths on the side of the road boast clothes, food, clubs, and of course, the free pens with company names on them. Kids hold their parents’ hands, couples embrace the casual atmosphere, friends joke as they share a bag of kettle corn. The day may not be bright, but the smiles seen throughout Madison speak for themselves. Literally.

Anne Marie Kling (AMK), a member of The Women’s National Farm and Garden Association. The group has been around for over a century.

Miles Bird (MB), a fellow writer for MDO, representative of Robotics Team at MHS.

Ellie Terret (ET), a staff member of Morris Elite, a soccer program.

MDO: What is you’re both/stand about?

ET: It’s [called] Morris Elite… a town travel soccer team. We’re based in Madison, [but] we have kids from all over Morris Country. If you know anyone who’s interested, send them our way!

MB: Our booth is an attempt to get kids involved in the Robotics Team at MHS while raising some money for the program.

AMK: It’s called Farm and Garden. We’re a club [that] farms and gardens. We also raise money for scholarships.

MDO: What do you enjoy most about Bottle Hill Day?

AMK: [I mostly enjoy] seeing people I haven’t seen in years.

MB: Something I enjoy most about Bottle Hill Day is seeing everyone in the town come together. There’s a lot of consumerism and capitalism [with the] booths that are running, but I [still] think it’s great to see everyone coming together for the good of the town. You can see faces you don’t normally see… friends you don’t normally see outside of school, or some family you haven’t seen in a long time. It’s a neat opportunity that only Bottle Hill Day can provide for.

ET: I like seeing all of the businesses and what they have to offer. It’s a lot of fun… it’s a “town” thing. It’s nice to see everyone come together.

MDO: What do you look forward to see the future for not just Bottle Hill Day, but for Madison as a whole?

AMK: [To] keep it just the way it is. I grew up in Madison… and I want it to stay the same way.

MB: A lot more integration of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) in the education. The education system here is great, but I’d like to see more. We have the potential for sure… Also, I’d like to see a diversification of the food and ethnic groups in this town. A lot of it’s located only in the small local businesses we have here, If we see a greater variety of groups come in we’ll see an increase in [diversity].

MDO: What do you think has changed over the past few years during Bottle Hill Day?

AMK: It’s gotten bigger.

MB: One thing that’s changed over the years was the amount of people [wanting] their kids to get involved… in school. As a Robotics Team member, people are always asking how do we get involved in college or highschool, and now they’re asking me even beyond that… elementary school, first grade, second grade, even kindergarten. That’s just what I noticed; as the town gets a lot younger there’s more of an influence of people asking these questions about our team. As a representative of the STEM community and Madison as a whole, it’s a really interesting to see that shift in perspective.

Nothing can replicate the closeness of the Madison community. Bottle Hill Day symbolizes that, and the residents of Madison are more than lucky to be involved in such a great town.